The UK’s bumbling Prime Minister Boris Johnson who has universally being decried for his gross mishandling of the Covid 19 Pandemic has announced that London Theatres can start to open soon. They will be allowed to reopen as part of step three, provisionally confirmed to take place from 17 May. Johnson stated that in step three, in-person performances and sports can come back within limits. He specifically mentioned that “theatres and concert halls can reopen their doors”, with pilots of larger events to take place using enhanced testing. Johnson added that If coronavirus rates remain low, England can then enter step four, the final step. In this phase, all sectors will be able to remain open, enabling theatre performances above the limit of step three. Currently, it’s unknown what limits are placed in shows opening as part of step three. Before the December lockdown, shows were able to take place to a seating capacity of 50% or 1,000, whichever was lower. The reaction has been mixed but not from major producers like Sir Cameron Mackintosh who has been pushing to reopen for several months. He took his ‘case’ to Britain’s Got Talent TV Show in October and produced a spectacular medley of some of the major musicals that were on hold. They included Mary Poppins, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Misérables – The Staged Concert. Check out the very impressive video which makes for a compelling case for having live performances again. |
